Diabolus
by sorrydraco
Summary: Harry is being haunted by a beast after his soul. Can he fight back? What if the only one who can help him is his worst enemy? HPDM SLASH! Also on hpff under the name fallennotforgotten.
1. Chapter 1

Harry Potter shook where he was standing. Sweat dripped off his face and his heart pumped fiercely. Everything one's body does to fight sickness or disease, his was doing; though his was a fight for the soul. Every inch of his skin was prickling, like a cat's fur standing up, preparing for battle. The autumn sun shone down upon his face, though he felt no warmth. No thoughts went through his head. He treated this as if it was another battle with Voldemort or the Death Eaters, and tried to seem brave, but to be honest he would have preferred the Death Eaters at the moment. There was nothing he could do to fight whatever was attacking him, as it wasn't attacking any of his senses. It was destroying his soul, the very core of his being. One can't even begin to understand how this feels until they experience it for themselves. It was like a tugging at the center of his body, pulling harder and harder each time.

It had started in Charms earlier that day. Harry had been sitting in his seat, listening to Professor Flitwick's lecture about the proper wand movements when performing cooking charms when he felt it. At first it was almost unnoticeable; a little tugging near his abdomen. It was unlike anything he had ever felt before, and before he really had time to think about it, it was over. He dismissed it as hunger, and checked his watch to see how long until he could go to lunch. He had nearly forgotten about it when it happened again, stronger this time. His hand twitched, as though he wanted to itch something that he could not reach. Once again, he dismissed it as hunger and tried to focus on the lesson. Only a few moments later, it happened again; this time so strong that his eyes watered in pain. Luckily, the class ended as soon as that twinge of pain was over. Harry picked up his books and hurried out of the classroom, not waiting for his friends. He had began to go to lunch, when it happened again, this time so intense that he gasped in pain. He knew now that it wasn't hunger. He rushed out of the school and stood beneath the boulder by the lake. His body shook as each new wave of pain hit.

He slumped his back against the boulder. Tears rolled from his face to the ground. In the few seconds he now had between attacks, he felt completely violated, as though someone had reached inside of him and touched somewhere that should never be touched. A new tug pulled at him. He slid down to his hands and knees and tried to keep himself from vomiting. His attempts were in vain, he threw up all over the ground.

"STOP…PLEASE STOP…", he sobbed, not caring who could hear him. His fists pounded against the dirt, long to hit whatever it was that was assaulting him. Everything was blurring now, his soul was being cut away; soon all that would be left of the great Harry Potter would be a body, living but empty. His insides were burning up with rage and fear. Something so precious was being stolen from him that he could never retrieve. He didn't know who the thief was, or why he wanted Harry, but what he was after was now very clear to Harry. His soul was being kidnapped.

It was like he was being tortured. Harry had been tortured under the cruciatus cruse, that night in the graveyard in his 4th year, but this was the most painful experience he'd ever had. A scream erupted from his mouth as he felt his soul almost nearly ripped away from his body. He would give anything to make this pain stop. He screamed again, and again, each scream louder than before. "HELP! SOMEBODY, PLEASE!", he shouted at the top of his lungs, wishing only that someone from the castle would hear him and come down to find him.

"Who's there?"

Harry didn't hear the voice at first, he was too deep inside himself, trying to fight away whatever it was that was threatening to tear apart his soul, his precious, darling soul. A figure appeared in Harry's view. Harry blinked back tears, desperately trying to ignore the pain to see his rescuer. His eyes cleared after a few seconds, but the tears returned again as soon as he saw who was standing in front of him.  
Staring down at him in disgust was Draco Malfoy.

The looked at each other for a moment, until another dose of pain came up inside of Harry. He gasped in agony, and Malfoy was gone from his eyesight. He caught his stomach in his hands as he vomited once again, this time on Malfoy's shoes. Harry grabbed Malfoy's leg, not caring about his regurgitated breakfast that was on it. "Please." Whispered Harry hoarsely, "help me."

Malfoy kicked him off. "What are you doing Potter? Get off of me!" he snarled in disgust. "What in the bloody hell do you think you're doing? Practicing for an interview, I suppose. What, passing out wasn't working well enough for you anymore? I see you have to vomit now for attention." He smirked at his joke, sorry that it had to be wasted, as none of his Slytherin friends were there to appreciate it.  
Harry was rocking back and forth now, scratching his arms with his fingernails. He looked at Malfoy, as if he was seeing him for the first time. Harry's eyes cleared for a moment. He stopped rocking and stretched his filthy arm out to touch Malfoy's robes. A single tear rolled from his eye, as he fell back and passed out.

"Potter? Are you dead?" Malfoy asked cautiously, feeling stupid. He kneeled over and prodded Harry's body with his wand. Harry groaned from deep in his throat. That was enough proof for Malfoy. He kicked him in the stomach. "Don't you ever dare vomit on a Malfoy again." He said coldly. He kicked Harry again, turned, and walked back to the school, revolted at the filth on his robes from Harry.

Harry awoke later that night in the hospital wing. Upon awaking, his first thought was that he was dead, but as he saw Madam Pomfrey bustling over to tend to him, he began to wish that he could have died.

"Potter! It's about time you awoke!" Clucked Madam Pomfrey. "I was beginning to think that I was about to have the first causality of my career." She smiled at her joke, though Harry didn't find it funny at all. She handed him a potion, which tasted like warm milk, and after he'd swallowed it in one gulp, she hurried into her office.

'What happened to me?' wondered Harry. He hardly remembered what had happened. He remembered being in the Charms classroom...and he had a stomachache…then he was down by the lake. 'But why was I at the lake!' He thought, frustration rising in his chest like someone blowing a balloon inside of him. Perhaps it really was a bubble, because no sooner had he felt the frustration, he felt something go 'pop' inside of him, and he felt a little tug in his gut. Fear flooded his body. Harry closed his eyes, wishing he could wake up, just wishing it could be a dream. 'No! I won't pass out again.' he thought fiercly. He took a deep breath and tried to dismiss it as a cramp.

Harry breathed in through his nose a few more times, as the pulling wasn't stopping. He tried desperately to get it off his mind, to think of something, anything, that would make the fear go away. 'I must have over reacted this afternoon, this isn't that bad.' He thought, not believing a word that was going through his mind. Breathing slowly, and trying to clear his mind, he rolled on to his side. How much time passed while he was laying there on his side, unmoving is unclear to him. He thought of nothing for several minutes, perhaps hours until he finally realized that the pain was gone.

He breathed out through his mouth and turned off the light beside his bed. He didn't think about anything until he fell asleep, merely a few minutes later.

A/N-Please R/R…yes, this will develop into a slash story later on but I don't want to hear anything about how wrong slash is, because I take that as homophobia, which will get me angry like nothing else does. If you liked it please review!


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two  
"So what do you think happened to you, Harry?" asked Hermione, her voice full of concern for her friend. It was the day after The Attack, as Harry was now referring to it, and after telling his friends about what had happened, Hermione was theorizing why, as is her nature.

"I don't even know." Harry sighed and leaned back in the scarlet armchair he was sitting in. Harry, Ron and Hermione were sitting together in a corner of the common room, pretending to be studying.

"Do you think it could have been You-Know-Who? You know, trying to do you in or something?" asked Ron.

Harry shook his head. "It wasn't a human. It couldn't possibly have been one. It wasn't after my body, Ron. It was after my soul."

Ron looked confused. "I thought you said…but…you passed out. If it wasn't hurting your body, you wouldn't have felt anything, at least physically, right?"

Harry closed his eyes. "My soul was being torn from my body. Of course it hurt. My body was fighting it off the way it would fight a virus. It was hurting my body, though that wasn't the intention."

Ron nodded, understanding. Hermione however, looked worried. "Why you Harry? Why would they want your soul?"

She had hit on the question he'd been wondering about. "I don't know." He said quietly, almost to himself. Hermione paused a few seconds.

"Will that thing, whatever it was, do you think that it will come back?"

Harry's eyes opened. It hadn't succeeded yesterday by the lake, so it came back in the Hospital Wing for Round Two. It had lost the battle once again, but Harry was weakened greatly. Even now, he could feel pain in his chest where his soul should be, the fight had bruised his spirit. He wasn't sure he would be able to come out on top again, if a Round Three happened. _No, _he thought. A round three would happen. He was sure of it. Last night in the Hospital had proved it. Whatever was after his soul would be back, for a fight more brutal than the first two.

Harry looked into Hermione's dark brown eyes. "Yes."

-----

Hermione and Ron stayed unusually close by Harry for the rest of the day, as if they thought that the Thing wouldn't come near him if they were around. Harry wasn't comforted by them whatsoever. He knew that if he couldn't fight that thing off, when it was inside of him, there was no way Ron or Hermione could do anything to fight it either. He tried to keep his mind off of what had happened yesterday, but he couldn't help it from flickering across his thoughts every few moments. He went through his morning, mind drowning in fear. He focused on nothing in his morning classes but figuring out a way to avoid the beast coming back.

_Last night…in the hospital wing. It went away…did I make it go away? _He thought whilst in Transfiguration. _What did I do? All I did was stop thinking about it…but surely that would have made me an easier target?_ His confusion bubbled up and down, like a pot full of boiling water. After failing to transfigure his raven for the umpteenth time, he pushed it to the back of his mind and left it there to think about later.

He made it to lunch without another attack, much to his own relief. He sat down at the Gryffindor table, escorted by Ron and Hermione, and helped himself to a huge serving of roast beef and green bean casserole. He dug into his food hungrily, and finished his plate in record time. He was about to help himself to a second helping, when he heard his name being called from another table.

"Hey, Potter! Don't eat too much, or you might get sick again!" called Malfoy jeeringly. The Slytherins around him laughed

"Just ignore him, Harry" whispered Hermione.

Malfoy grinned coldly at Harry. "Shall I tell them what happened to you yesterday, Potter? Or would you like to?"

"Shut your mouth Malfoy, if you know what's best for you." Ron said dangerously.

Malfoy stood up and walked over to the Gryffindor table, sneering at Ron. "Is that a challenge, Weasel?"

Ron stood up, pulled his wand from his robes, and pointed it directly at Malfoy's face. Malfoy's lips curled mockingly at Ron's wand. It was filthy with fingerprints, and the wood was chipped at some places. It was obviously a hand-me-down.

"Oh, what's that Weasley? It looks like a stick that the Whomping Willow dropped…however, if that's all your family can afford…" his voice trailed off.

Ron pushed his wand at Malfoy's throat, his mind racing desperately to find an appropriately nasty hex for him. He was just about to mutter the Furnunculus curse, when both his arms were grabbed and he was pulled a few inches back from Malfoy's throat, and taken off guard. Holding his left arm was Hermione, while on his right arm was the potions master himself, Snape.

"Weasley! Just what do you think your doing?" said Snape, his voice full of venom.

"Please sir, he tried to attack me, I was defenseless" said Malfoy, sucking up in a most disgusting way.

"Detention Weasley. Tomorrow night at 7 in my office." Snape said coolly. "Return back to your table, Draco." Malfoy obeyed, and left, as did Snape.

Ron was furious. "I can't believe he gave me detention but not Malfoy! That lousy, dirty rat!"

Hermione sipped her tea. "Finish your lunch, Ron." She said casually.

"I'm not hungry" said Ron stubbornly. "I'm going back to the Common Room." With that, he dismissed himself from the table and stormed upstairs.

Hermione looked at Harry and smiled lightly. "Honestly, he is a bit hot-headed, don't you think?" Harry grinned at her. She took another sip of her tea, and her look darkened. "Have you felt anything this morning? Do you think he's coming back?"  
Harry shook his head. "The only thing I've felt all morning is fear."

Hermione looked into his eyes. "I'm worried for you Harry. This could be more dangerous then even facing Voldemort. When you battle him, you can at least see him. This is something completely different."

"I know." Said Harry, feeling slightly annoyed. Why should Hermione feel like she has to tell him that? She's never experienced either of the kind of fights she just spoke about.

Harry returned to his food, not wanting to discuss the topic any more. Hermione watched him eat for a few seconds, before speaking again. "I'm going to the library to for my free period to research what might be happening to you. Care to come with me?"

"No thanks" said Harry, washing down his food with a gigantic gulp of pumpkin juice. "I'm going back to the dormitory to take a nap." They both stood up to leave, and bade each other goodbye at the door.

Harry returned to his dormitory for a much needed rest. Although it was only half-way through the day, he was exhausted. He laid down on his bed, and was fast asleep after a few minutes.

----

Harry awoke two hours later to the sound of Ron moving things around noisily.

"Ron! What are you doing?" Harry said, sleepily.

"Oh, sorry Harry, I'm looking for my bloody potions book. I can't find it anywhere." said Ron sheepishly.

Harry groaned and rolled over.

"You should get up…it's almost time for potions."

"Oh, perfect. Just what I need, Malfoy telling the whole school I vomited all over him and passed out at his feet."  
Had it been anyone else besides Harry who mentioned 'passing out at Malfoy's feet', Ron would have laughed. Only the strength of his friendship with Harry was stronger that his desire to laugh.

"To hell with him, mate." Ron said simply. Harry chuckled slightly and got up, found Ron's book after searching only a few moments (it was under his bed) and headed down to the dungeons.

"I wonder where Hermione is." Said Ron, scanning the small crowd that was standing outside the potions classroom, waiting to be let in.  
"She said she was going to the library, I suppose she's still there." Said Harry.

"Wondering where you little mudblood girlfriend is, Potter?"

Harry turned around, already knowing who was speaking. "Bugger off, Malfoy." Next to him, he saw Ron reach for his wand, and in a flash he was at Malfoy's throat. "You won't get away from me this time you nasty little piece of dirt. _Furnunculus!_" he shouted. Malfoy was thrown off his feet, but the curse didn't actually work, to no one's surprise. Malfoy jumped to his feet and whipped out his wand. "Expelliarmus!" he said quietly, disarming Ron. He snapped Ron's wand in half like it was nothing, and threw it to the side. "Don't challenge a Malfoy, Weasley, for you will always lose." Malfoy said dangerously. "Let me show you the proper way to perform that curse." Malfoy raised his wand, but before the words left his mouth, Harry felt it again. Somewhere deep inside of him, his soul was desperately attempting to fight off an attacker. This time however, it was different. The pain started intensely and didn't pause. He dropped to his knees and grabbed his stomach.

Malfoy lowered his wand and Ron kneeled down besides Harry. "Harry! Are you okay?" Harry didn't answer, he couldn't answer, he no longer had any thoughts running through his mind. He wanted nothing more than to die, he knew that to die would be to save his soul forever from the beast that was attacking it.

Harry looked up at Malfoy. What went through his mind at that moment is unbeknownst to everyone, even Harry himself, but at that moment, the boy standing in front of him wasn't Draco Malfoy. He was his saviour. Harry crawled over to Draco. "Please save me." He whispered, his voice quivering with silent agony. Harry extended out his hand. Malfoy stared at it.

"Harry, what are you doing?" Ron asked, voice shaking in fear for his friend.

Hermione rushed into the hallway, several books beneath her arm. She stopped dead in her tracks when she saw Harry kneeling to Draco Malfoy. "Harry!" she shouted, dropping her books and running to her friend. He ignored her completely, still reaching up to Malfoy's robes. He grabbed the hem of his robes, begging. "Take my hand. Please."

Malfoy looked disgusted. "Malfoy, will you please just grab his hand!" said Hermione, exasperated. He backed up slightly away from Harry, causing him to wail loudly in anguish. "TAKE HIS HAND!" said Hermione. Malfoy complied slowly, grabbing Harry's hand and releasing it almost instantly. "He's fucking sweating! I've never felt anything like that!" Malfoy said, sounding revolted. Harry's eyes appeared plastered open. He looked at his free hand, the one that had been holding Malfoy's, and fell over, unconscious.

**A/N-There's a reason why Draco had to do that, but I'll reveal it soon, I promise. Please review! I'm working really hard on getting all the chapters up as quick as possible so I'd appreciate it a lot if all this hard work isn't in vain!**


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three  
Harry opened his eyes and saw another pair of eyes staring down at him. He jumped in surprise, and accidentally bumped into the headmaster himself, Albus Dumbledore. Harry fell back down onto his pillow, embarrassed. "Professor…excuse me. I didn't see you there." apologized Harry.

Dumbledore waved his apology away with his hand. "So, Harry. Would you mind telling me how you can to be here?"

Harry nodded. "Well sir, I don't exactly know what happened, but I can tell you what I do know. Yesterday in Charms, I was just sitting in class when I felt something in my stomach, like a stomachache except it didn't really hurt my stomach. I could feel it there but that's not what was being hurt. Do you understand that?"

"Not really, but continue." Said Dumbledore.

"Well, every time I start to feel like that, it's like my soul is being torn away from my body. I dunno who or what could want my soul, but I know that's what they want. I suppose the reason why I passed out is because my body is trying to fight off that thing, whatever it is, like it is a disease."

Dumbledore nodded, understanding. The old man sighed and put his head in his hands. "Miss Granger came to me after your attack. I understand she'd been researching your condition in the library. Well, it appears that she found a record of a woman with a case similar to yours. Her name was Celeste Mikesell, and she was a ministry witch in her time. She began having symptoms like yours, and died two months after her attacks started." Dumbledore paused to clean off his glasses. "The article that Miss Granger found, did not, however, name exactly what she was suffering from. It could be something completely different than what you're experiencing."

Harry didn't answer for a moment, letting this information sink into his brain. He exhaled deeply, trying to let go of the fear and stress that was gripping at his throat, threatening to suffocate him. "Professor? So, am I going to die?" Harry asked, trying not to sound as worried as he felt.

"I don't know Harry, and I'm sorry to say it." replied Dumbledore, not bothering to hide the concern in his voice.

A million questions raced through Harry's mind, although he doubted that many of them could be answered. "Sir? May I see the article?"  
"Certainly, Harry." said Dumbledore, retrieving a faded, yellow piece of paper from his robes.

**Strange New Disease Takes Life of Ministry Witch  
**Celeste Mikesell was discovered dead on the morning of Thursday, June 10th, after experiencing several strange fits over the past two months. The cause of her death is assumed to be these fits. The symptoms of her illness included fainting, vomiting, displaying schizophrenic and OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder) symptoms, and depression. On the night before her death, she complained of a stomachache, before returning home early. No research is being done, as no other cases of this disease have been reported.

Harry looked at Dumbledore. "Sir, this could apply to other things too. So, is it possible that this might not be what I have?"

Dumbledore nodded. "Yes Harry, it is possible, in fact, it is even very likely. But as this is the best we have to go on, I suggest to you this. We find out more about this woman, Celeste, and learn all we can that could help you. That would be your best bet to get rid of this monstrosity that is consuming all your life power."

Harry smiled weakly. "I'll do it, sir."

Dumbledore returned the smile. "And I will help you. Now you need some rest. Goodnight, Harry." With a wave of his arm, the candles blew out and they were in darkness. "Goodnight, Professor." whispered Harry. But there was no one left in the room to hear him.

----

Harry was released under Dumbledore's order the next morning, although it was much against Madam Pomfrey's personal judgment. He hurried to breakfast, eager to talk to Hermione and Ron about what he had learned in the hospital wing. He sat down next to Hermione, who was buttering her toast. "I need your help." He said, out of breath.

"With what?" said Hermione calmly.

"I need to research Celeste Mikesell." Harry explained. Hermione nodded.

"Oh, that woman in the article? I'm sure I could find out loads about her, she was very well known in her time. Ministry of Magic, you see, she very famous auror. I've heard of her briefly in a few other books I've read." Hermione said, making Harry feel quite stupid, as usual.

"Well, can we go there this afternoon on our free period?" asked Harry.

"Of course."

-----

Harry returned to his classes as if nothing had happened, but found himself surrounded by whispering people every time he passed. This was not a new feeling for Harry; however it was not one he really enjoyed, so he did his best to ignore it. He focused on his studies, and found the day passing quickly, until it came to a skidding halt when he reached the class he'd been dreading all day. Potions. He'd been able to avoid Malfoy all day, but now avoiding him would be inevasible.

Harry entered the room quietly and sat down besides Ron, dropping his book bag on the floor. Small eruptions of laughter broke out amongst the Slytherins, who were sitting in a group, surrounding Malfoy. Harry tuned it out, and tried to focus on Snape, who was explaining a project that they would begin today. Harry tried to pay attention, but he couldn't quite grasp what Snape was saying, as another fit of laughter had burst forward, and a paper airplane flew over to Harry's area and landed perfectly on Harry's desk. Harry was just about to crumple it up when it unfolded itself, revealing a rather well drawn, yet graphic picture of Harry kneeling at Malfoy's feet. Harry watched his picture self vomit on Malfoy, then repeat. Harry wrinkled the paper up, and threw it over at Malfoy. He hit him square in square in the forehead, and smiled, pleased with his good aim. Ron laughed loudly. Malfoy looked as if he was about to say something, when Snape turned around from where he was lecturing in front of the class.

"Weasley? Do you think you can disrupt my class with your childishness?"

"I only laughed!" objected Ron.

Snape curled his lip at Ron, in a way which made him look like an older, greasier version of Malfoy. "I don't think you want to be talking to me like that Weasley, seeing as you already have a detention with me. We could easily add another one."

"Yes, _sir._" Ron spat out, emphasizing the sir. He crossed his arms and sat back in his seat grumpily. Snape returned to his lecture.

"He doesn't even say anything to _them_" Ron whispered angrily, referring to the Slytherins, who were now making fun of Ron, making quite a bit of noise and not paying attention to the lesson whatsoever.

"Just let it go." said Hermione, dignifiedly. Ron closed his eyes and raised his hands to the ceiling. Hermione rolled her eyes at him.  
"Granger! Keep your mouth shut when in my classroom, understood?"

Hermione looked surprised, but muttered "yes, sir." anyway. Snape looked at the trio for a moment, as if thinking of a way to make them angry enough to give them detention.

"Class, partner up, we'll be working in pairs on this project." Harry instinctively scooted his chair closer to Ron's. "I don't think so, Weasley. Go sit by Zabini; he'll be your partner for today." Ron picked up his things, and moved over by Blaise Zabini, shooting daggers at Snape with his eyes. Harry moved by Hermione, doubting that Snape would allow this to happen. He was right. "Granger, go sit with Parkinson. Potter…you'll be working with Malfoy." said Snape, looking pleased at the expressions on Harry and Hermione's face.  
Malfoy looked up at the mention of his name. He watched Harry walk over in mock horror. "But, sir! I can't work with Potter, every time he gets near me, he falls at my feet and throws up!" he said, faking innocence, causing the Slytherins to laugh.

"Be quiet Malfoy, you'll do as I say." snarled Snape.

Harry sat down reluctantly next to Malfoy, silent in anger at Snape. Malfoy sneered at him, but remained silent. Harry tried not to think about the loathsome boy beside him, and opened up his potions book to read the instructions on making the potion. Harry frowned as he read, the potion would take a whole week. Sixth years now had about 4 classes each, and in Hermione's case, 6. As they had so few classes, they now had the same schedule daily, not counting, of course, Saturday and Sunday. Harry groaned inwardly, not at all looking forward to the prospect of a week spent with Malfoy. As it was Wednesday, the potion would be done on the following Wednesday.

Harry and Malfoy sat in silence for a few moments, both avoiding looking at the other. Malfoy broke the silence, hissing quietly to Harry, "Aren't you going to get the supplies, Potter?"

Harry looked at Malfoy. "Yes, Malfoy", Harry said, spitting out his name like it was an insult. Harry stood up to walk over to Snape's supply closet. Malfoy discreetly extended his foot out into Harry's path. Harry tripped and fell on his face. The entire class burst into laughter.

Harry stood up, and brushed himself off without looking at Malfoy. Hate boiled inside his chest. He angrily took the things out of Snape's closet, closing the door perhaps a little too hardly. He returned to his desk, watching carefully for anyone who might find it funny to trip Harry Potter, and slammed the ingredients down on the desk. "No need to be cross, _Potter. _It was simply a joke." Malfoy said, disrespecting the name Potter as Harry had to the name Malfoy. Harry bit his tongue to keep himself from saying anything, deciding he wasn't in the mood to argue with Malfoy. He silently began to cut his roots to put in the potion. Malfoy sat beside him, doing nothing besides occasionally mocking Harry to his Slytherin friends. Harry ignored him, although he could feel anger bubbling inside him, and it had nothing to do with something after his soul. And when the bell rang, it was none too soon.

A/N-Review puh-leez…I would love you forever if you did. Thanks to everyone who reviewed the first two chapters….chapter four is finished and being validated so look forward to that!


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

Harry stared blankly down at the very old newspaper he was reading. It was completely boring, and had absolutely nothing to do with his condition, however; the name Celeste Mikesell was in it, so therefore he was stuck reading it. He sighed and set the paper down on the table that he was sitting at. It seemed so pointless, the article was about Celeste's garden that had won an award for the best kept in wizarding Britain, which Harry was sure would help him none in finding out what was happening to him. "Hermione" hissed Harry, across the table, where Hermione was examining an old Hogwarts record book. Her head snapped up as she heard her name.

"Harry, what is it?" she said, sounding annoyed at his interruption.

"This is rubbish." Harry said simply.

Hermione sighed and looked up at the ceiling. "Harry, I'm trying. If you don't feel like reading, then will you make yourself useful somehow, please? I'm trying to help you."

Harry looked at her blankly. "What do you want me to do?"

Hermione shot him a look of irritation. "Write down how you feel when that thing is inside of you. And write down everything we know so far about Celeste Mikesell, while you're at it, just so we have some notes to base our research on."

Harry grabbed a piece of parchment and dutifully wrote down everything Hermione had told him to. It didn't take very long. He looked at what he had written. Maybe he just wasn't good at studying, even if it was to save his soul. He placed the parchment in his book and headed up to bed.

-----

Harry woke up in the middle of the night, sweating profusely. He knew what was happening before he even knew he was awake. It was back. Fear crawled through his brain, numbing him. He felt his soul twinge and writhe, trying to hide from its attacker. He dug his fingernails into his arm, trying to keep from crying out. He felt tears burn his eyes, which he had squeezed shut. He braced himself for the shock of pain that he was sure he was going to experience. He lay there for what could have been hours, and when the pain never came, he drifted slowly back to sleep, too afraid to wonder why it hadn't hurt him.

-----

"I hate you, Potter." Spat Malfoy, the next day in Potions. Harry was sitting directly across from him, a caldron in between them. Harry traced the paragraph he was reading with his finger, not even bothering to look up. Malfoy waited a few seconds for him to reply, and when Harry didn't he continued with a revolting string of insults.

"Precious Potter with his precious scar, too noble to answer when Draco Malfoy speaks to him. Don't ever think I'm below you Potter, you half-blooded scum." Malfoy whispered menacingly. Harry felt his gaze burning holes into his skull. "You just wait until the Dark Lord gets you. You'll get what you deserve, and you will finally see your filthy, mudblood mother again."

Harry's head snapped up. His eyes met Malfoy's, whose face was twisted in a mocking grin. "Shut up about my mother, Malfoy." he muttered.

"I can say whatever I please about your mother, Potter. She was a dirty slag, and a nasty muggle." Malfoy smirked at his own comment. Harry slammed his book shut, and put it on top of his stack of schoolbooks.

"I can't work with you." he said. "It looks like we will just fail then, because I don't suppose you have the brains to do this project without me."

"Ahh, but that's where you're wrong, Potter. Who has the highest marks in the year? It most definitely is not you."

"Nor is it you. That would be Hermione."

"I wasn't counting mudbloods, as they shouldn't be here anyways."

Harry leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes. He would have liked nothing better than to pummel Malfoy, but 6 years of friendship with Hermione had taught him to restrain himself. He took a deep breath and tried to let go of his anger, when the drawling voice broke through his concentration once again. "Let me use your book, Potter. I'm going to do this myself."

Harry nodded towards the stack of books, not opening his eyes. He put his hands behind his head, trying to forget that he was in this classroom, that he was Harry Potter, that he even alive. He wished he could get out of this life, and leave all the stress behind. He hadn't really been happy since that day at the lake. Was it really only two days ago? It seemed like ages ago. Harry sat there, so caught up in his own thoughts that he didn't even notice when the bell rang. He was shaken out of them by Hermione, who grabbed his shoulder, and told him to get up.

"What? Oh, sorry, I kind of drifted off."

"Shall we go then?" Hermione asked, smiling slightly. Harry nodded, and they headed down to the Great Hall for dinner. Harry had walked halfway there, before he realized that Malfoy still had his book.

"Oh shit! Malfoy has my stuff!" Harry cursed loudly, angry with himself for forgetting. "I'll be right back, let me go get them back." He pivoted on the spot, and went back down the dungeons.

He found Malfoy walking with a group of Slytherins, none of which he liked, and none of which he very much fancied the idea of being alone in a hallway with. "Malfoy...I need my…" he started, but was cut off by Malfoy saying, "We need to talk." He ushered away his friends, and nodded at Harry, beckoning him over.

He retrieved a piece of parchment from his pocket, and unwrinkled it slowly. Harry recognized it to be the paper he had written down his symptoms on, and his face flushed. "I know what's wrong with you." He said quietly.

"What are you talking about" asked Harry, suspiciously.

"Why you keep vomiting and having fits all over the place. I can help you."

Harry looked at him, not trusting him, but intrigued. "Why would you want to help me?"

Malfoy looked at him like he was crazy. "Because no one deserves what you're going through. Not even you, Potter."

Harry nodded, still not exactly sure if he should trust him. "So, how can you help me then?"

Malfoy looked him in the eyes. "Meet me down by the lake at 7. And kindly don't bring your friends, because I don't need their prejudiced accusations directed at me, while I'm trying to help you."

Harry nodded slowly. "I'll be there."

Malfoy handed him the paper, and began to walk away. "Malfoy!" called Harry, remembering why he was looking for him in the first place. "I need my books still!"

Malfoy turned and smiled. "Meet me at the lake." And he walked away, leaving Harry to stand alone, wondering what in the world just happened.

A/N-REVIEWING IS A GOOD THING!


	5. Chapter 5

Draco Malfoy couldn't believe his luck. He considered finding Potter's list in his book a stroke of his genius, denying the fact that it was due to his own tendency to be unbearably nosy that he found it. Reading through it, he smiled slightly to himself, knowing exactly what Harry was describing. It was too good to be true.

He rushed out of the classroom, purposely taking Harry's things, and hurried to his dormitory. He knew exactly what he was going to do, it was all too easy. He kneeled besides his bed, and from beneath the bed, he retrieved a book entitled _Advanced Potion Making for The Aspiring Dark Artist. _He leafed through the pages, until he fell upon a page entitled "Temporary Loss of Magic". He read through it quickly. "One month…that's enough time." he whispered, to himself. He ripped the page out, and placed that in his robes, next to the list. He sat down at his desk, dipped his quill into black ink, and began writing on the parchment in front of him.

_My dearest father,  
I hope my letter reaches you in good health. I will be quite brief, as I don't have much time to write this. I have found a way to bring Harry Potter to you, powerless in only a short month. I will send more details along when I have them.  
Your devoted son,  
Draco _

He smiled and sealed the letter in a envelope. He placed it in his pocket, beside the other two papers.  
He headed to dinner, holding himself with dignity. Finally, he would be able to prove himself to the Death Eaters. Finally, he would win his fathers pride and affection. He couldn't help but smile.

-----

Harry joined Ron and Hermione at the Gryffindor table, still in quite a daze. "There you are, mate. Why did you walk in with Malfoy?" Ron asked, looking remotely disgusted.

"The strangest thing just happened." murmured Harry. "Malfoy just offered to help me with my 'problem'"

Hermione looked shocked, Ron on the other hand looked suspicious. "You're not going to accept it, are you?"

"Of course he's not!" exclaimed Hermione, as if it was obvious. "Malfoy's your enemy, why would he ever want to help you?"

"Actually…I think I am going to accept. I'm going to go meet him after dinner."

"I'm coming." declared Ron and Hermione in unison.

"_You_ can't mate…you have detention." said Harry, nodding at Ron.

"I'm going with you, Harry." said Hermione firmly. "You need someone with a head on their shoulders to decide if he's scamming you."

"Fair enough…but, wait! He said don't bring my friends!" said Harry, remembering suddenly.

"All the better reason for me to go." said Hermione, but when Harry still looked uncertain, she said "Fine, I'll wear the invisibility cloak if it makes you feel better." Harry nodded. They finished dinner in silence.

---

Harry and Hermione walked down to the lake, Hermione invisible underneath Harry's cloak. They stopped at the boulder where Harry and Draco had met last time, however, he was nowhere in sight.

"Malfoy?" asked Harry, uncertainly. He looked around, but it was of no avail, as he saw no one. "I suppose he's late?" he said quietly to Hermione, in the cloak.

"That could be…or this could be his idea of a joke." said Hermione, sounding annoyed. Harry nodded, and opened his mouth to reply, when he heard a voice behind him.

"Didn't I tell you not to bring anyone, Potter?" spat Draco Malfoy, walking out from behind the boulder. "Don't think that I couldn't hear Granger from where I was standing. You might as well take off the cloak, Granger. I know that you're there."

Hermione removed the cloak, looking foolish. Harry stepped forward. "You said you know what's wrong with me?"

"You know, I have half a mind not to help you anymore. It was a pretty simple request, don't you think? Come alone. Ahh, but no, you're Harry Potter, so I suppose you don't have to listen to anyone." Malfoy said, not sounding very angry.

"Can you please cut the bullshit and tell me what you have to tell me?" Harry snapped.

Malfoy looked at him in disgust. "Watch your temper, Potter. I don't have to tell you anything."

Harry crossed his arms and remained silent.

"Apologize to me."

Harry paused. "I'm sorry, Malfoy."

Malfoy smiled. "Very good. Let's take a walk, shall we?"

Malfoy started walking along the lakeside, not waiting for Harry and Hermione. They walked behind him, whispering back and forth, both wondering what he could possibly intending to do.

Malfoy turned around. "Potter, I can't very well tell you what I have to tell you if you're walking behind me. Kindly come up here and talk to me."

Harry and Hermione jogged up beside him. Malfoy laughed. "Not you, Granger. You shouldn't even be here in the first place."  
"I'm not leaving Harry." Hermione snarled.

"Aw, how sweet. Sorry Granger, but your boyfriend needs to learn how to be a man. He can face me by himself, I won't hurt him."  
Hermione said nothing, but didn't stop. Malfoy, on the other hand, did. "Or, I could just let Potter die. Because that's what will happen if he doesn't hear what I'm going to tell him."

Hermione glanced at Harry, and started to open her mouth to speak, but Harry interrupted her. "Hermione…go wait for us by the boulder." She started to protest, but he just shook his head at her. She frowned slightly, and turned around and walked to the boulder.

"Excellent." said Malfoy. "Sit." he said, placing himself cross legged on the ground. Harry followed suit.

"Now, I'll be quick about this. Your soul is being hunted after by an army of demonic beasts called The Diabolus. I don't suppose you know what that means?" Harry shook his head. "That means devil in Latin. You should have known, but as your not a pureblood, I can't really expect you to know Latin." He smirked. "Well, there are two ways to fight The Diabolus off. The first way would be difficult and take more time than you have. The second option is the one I'm going to give you. You can take a potion to cleanse you of evil, and then we can have an exorcism. The potion will take a month to be prepared, and I am willing to do it for you free of charge. Do you accept?"

"Of course." said Harry, feeling overwhelmed. Malfoy started to stand up, but Harry stopped him. "Wait…Malfoy. Why are they after me?"

"I don't know Potter, and to be honest, I really do not care. Is that all?" he said, sounding irritated.

"No...I have a few more questions. How do you even know all of this?"

"Potter, I was raised to be a Death Eater. I know everything that there is possibly to know about the Dark Arts"

Harry nodded. "Why are you telling me all this? Why would you help me?"

Malfoy paused for a few seconds. He exhaled deeply. "Potter, this is nothing personal. I'm not doing this for you. I'm doing it because I wouldn't be able to live knowing that I could have destroyed one of those loathsome things, and didn't take the opportunity. I would have done this no matter who it was."

Harry stood up. He looked Malfoy in the eyes. "Thank you." he said simply. Malfoy nodded. "I'm not doing this for you." he repeated.  
They started to walk back to the boulder in silence when it happened. Harry's insides contorted, he screamed and dropped to his knees. Malfoy looked down at him, knowing exactly what was happening. Harry looked up at him, but his eyes were glassy and almost transparent looking. Malfoy screamed.

Harry crawled over to him, reaching up to touch him, wincing every few seconds in pain. "Get away from me!" Malfoy hollered, wishing he hadn't told Hermione to leave. As soon as he thought it, he heard her scream "Get away from him!" He listened without a second thought. The two of them watched Harry have a fit, screaming and vomiting. Hermione's face was streaked in tears. She began to walk over to him, but Malfoy stopped her. "Don't. You can't help him." She nodded tearfully.

After a few moments, Harry passed out and lay flat on his back. She ran to him, and pulled out her wand. She whispered the reviving spell, and his eyes shot open. "Harry…are you okay?" she said tearfully.

"I need his help, Mione." he said hoarsely.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N-SORRY for not updating for so long! I havent forgotten about this!!! Heres another chapter for your enjoyment (Hopefully). And please, please, PLEASE review!!!!!!!!**

**Chapter Six**

If Harry thought that this would change Draco's attitude towards him, he was sadly mistaken. The next day in Potions proved to be no different than it had been for the past 6 years, Malfoy was a complete prat, and Harry bit his tongue throughout the whole lesson.  
"My God, Potter, can't you do anything right?" sneered Malfoy, as Harry splashed the potion sloppily on the table. Harry longed to reach out and hit him, but controlled his temper. He gritted his teeth together, and said nothing.

The class came to an end none too soon, and Harry rushed to the door as a cold, drawling voice came from behind him. "Potter, wait." It was more of a command than a request.

"What do you want, Malfoy?" said Harry, whirling around.

"Meet me tonight in the astronomy tower." said Malfoy. Harry looked at him as though he was crazy. "To start working on your potion. Good Lord, Potter, what did you think? That I wanted to meet up with you and snog or something?" He snorted at his own joke. Harry didn't find it amusing.

"Be there around 11. And bring your invisibility cloak." said Draco, before walking gracefully past Harry, to meet up with his Slytherin friends, who were loyally waiting for him ahead. Harry gaped after him, wondering how he even knew about the cloak.  
Hermione and Ron appeared at either side of Harry. "What did he want?" asked Hermione, sounding concerned.

"He wants me to meet him tonight…to start making the potion." Harry said wearily.

"You're not going, are you?" said Ron, sounding disgusted.

Harry sighed, and nodded. "Of course I'm going. I have no other chance of getting better, right?"

Ron looked like he was going to say something, but decided Harry was right and shut up. He looked slightly disturbed at the thought that Harry would ever turn to Malfoy for help, even if it meant saving his life. Harry didn't let Ron bother him, he was simply being Ron, and Harry was quite used to it. Harry headed down to lunch, and from lunch headed to his next class, the whole day blurring and burning into nothing.

---

Harry looked down at his watch. It was 11. Where was Malfoy? He looked around, as if Malfoy would be hiding in the shadows or something, thinking it would be a great joke to scare the great Harry Potter. Harry sat down on a bench, and watched a kissing couple that was sitting across the tower from him.

"On time, I see." came a soft voice from in front of Harry. He jerked his head up, to see Draco Malfoy standing in front of him. Harry gaped at him.

"I didn't hear you come in…" Harry said, surprised.

"I didn't intend for you to hear me." said Malfoy, sounding as though he felt very superior to Harry at the moment. Normally, Harry would have said some stupid retort, but at the moment, he really didn't feel like playing Malfoy's games.

Harry sighed. "Can we get down to business?"

Malfoy smirked. "Very well, Potter." he said, the superior tone not leaving his voice for a second. "Well, I've gotten most of the ingredients from Snape, but-"

"YOU IDIOT! YOU TOLD SNAPE?" spat Harry, horrified at the thought that his most hated teacher would know such an embarresing secret.

"Oh, don't be stupid Potter. He already knew, of course, he heard from Dumbledore." Malfoy snapped, obviously not appreciating being spoken to so rudely. "Anyways, like I was saying, the only problem is that a few ingredients are very rare, so we'll need to collect them ourselves. Luckily, most of them can be found in the Forbidden Forest. The other two that we can't find there I will acquire from my father. Do you have your cloak?"

"Err, yes. Why do we need it?" said Harry, not really trusting Malfoy.

Malfoy sighed. "To go down to the Forbidden Forest, obviously. Honestly, Potter, you can be so dim-witted sometimes."

Harry frowned. "Why did you have me meet you up here? Why couldn't we have met at the forest?"

"I'm not trying to get caught Potter, I need your cloak to remain hidden."

"But why not the Great Hall, then?"

"Did you not just hear me? I don't want to get caught. Are you going to get your cloak out, or not?" Malfoy said, sounding annoyed.

"Oh, right." Harry retrieved the cloak from his pocket and pulled it over himself. Malfoy stared at him, or rather, he stared at where he had been, because Harry was no longer visible.

"Potter, I need to use it too!" It was too dark to tell, but Harry thought from his voice that Malfoy's eyes were rolling. Harry hadn't thought about this; he wasn't exactly comfortable with being under the same cloak as Malfoy, but as he saw no way around it, he cloaked Malfoy too.

Malfoy gasped as he disappeared. "My God, Potter! Give me a warning next time!" Harry chuckled, while thinking how much he desperately hoped that there wouldn't be a next time.

They walked in silence down to the Forbidden Forest. Every few steps, their hands would brush, sending warm shivers up Harry's arm. He held his hands together, trying not to touch Malfoy. He shuddered slightly in disgust, not liking the feeling of being so close to Malfoy at all. He made himself a mental note to wash his hands before he returned to the common room.

Harry put himself in auto pilot as they walked through the forest, thinking about how much he would rather be in bed, and praying that Malfoy doesn't have some infectious disease. 'Not that it would really matter at this point,' Harry speculated, 'there can't be anything much worse than what I have.' Harry was so deep in his thoughts that he barely noticed when Malfoy came to a sudden halt in front of a white flower, and Harry walked straight into him.

"Ow! What the fuck, Malfoy?"

Malfoy sighed, and Harry was sure that if he could see properly, he would see two silver eyes rolling to the sky. "This is what we need for the potion, you idiot." Malfoy removed the cloak from the two of them, and thrust it into Harry's arms. "Get down and pick it," he sneered.

"Why can't you pick it?" Harry asked stubbornly.

Another sigh eased out of Malfoy. "Because Potter, this is the most important ingredient to our little concoction, and the most strongly symbolic. _You_ have to pick it, because its thorns need to prick _you_, and _your_ blood needs to stain the white petals. Do you understand now, you imbecile?"

Harry didn't answer, but simply bent down and pulled the flower. "Ouch." He whispered, as the thorn pricked his finger the moment it was out of the ground. He watched the white petals that shone in the moonlight quickly turn a shining, fluorescent red. "That's so strange." He muttered, to himself.

"It's amazing, isn't it?" Malfoy asked, admiringly. "This is the single most powerful plant used all dark magic throughout history. It seeks blood, Potter. You understand what I meant about symbolism? This will work especially well on you, you see, the white petals are your precious, innocent soul before it is ravaged by the beast. You see your blood churning on the petals?" True to his word, Harry's dark red blood now appeared to be pulsing on the plant. It made Harry feel a bit sick to look at. Malfoy reached for the plant, but quickly drew his hand back. "I wish I could hold it. But I can't get my blood involved in the potion. Too risky. You might end up with a piece of _my_ soul inside of you" He laughed.

Harry just looked at him oddly. He'd never heard Malfoy speak that much without insulting someone. He opened his mouth to reply, but couldn't decide what quite to say back, not being used to conversing with Malfoy politely. A mosquito flew into his open mouth. Harry choked. Malfoy cocked his head and looked at him questioningly.

"Well, we've got what we wanted. Are you going to put your cloak back on us, or would you just like for us to get caught?"  
Harry nodded; Malfoy was back to normal. He threw the cloak over them, and they returned to the tower, once again in complete silence. At the tower, Malfoy at once reached into the pocket of his robes and pulled out his wand.

"_Anglovia_" he muttered, pointing directly at his left hand, then repeating the procedure to his right. A pair of black gloves appeared on his hands, and Harry thought from the look of them that they were made of dragon hide.

"Hand me the flower, Potter."

Harry gladly handed over the flower, which was now embossed in his own blood. He put the fingers of his right hand in his mouth and sucked at the blood. His mouth tasted like metal.

"These gloves should protect my hands, dragon hide; should be strong enough to protect from thorns without a doubt," said Malfoy. Harry really didn't care, but he didn't say anything.

Malfoy turned to Harry and half-smiled. "Okay Potter, that's all I need of _you_. You can leave."

"Wait, that's all? I thought we needed more than one ingredient?" Harry asked.

"Yes, Potter, we do, but trust me, I will be able to obtain them much faster without you tagging along to slow me down," Malfoy snapped at him.

"Whatever." Harry said coolly. "Bye."

Harry Potter put on his invisibility cloak, walked out of the astronomy tower, and kept walking until he walked straight into his bed. He didn't even remember to stop and wash his hands.


End file.
